Lucky Penny
by CommanderElsa
Summary: <html><head></head>Emma comes to Elsa with a lead on her sister, who may have been right under her nose all along. implied Helsa and definite Kristanna.</html>


**Oneshot. Will be connected with another to be posted within the next few days. Just me working through some writer's block. Enjoy! :-)**

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><p>A knock at the door woke Elsa abruptly from a deep, dreamless sleep. Bleary eyes attempted to focus in the morning sunlight. Careful not to wake Hans, she threw his T-Shirt over her head and pulled on her pants before creeping to the door and glancing through the small peephole. She recognized Emma's blonde hair at once, opening the door as quietly as she could.<p>

Emma smirked at her. "I thought I might find you over here," she said wryly. Elsa gave her a tired glare, but her eyes fell to the piece of paper in the Sheriff's hand. "I, uh…found some information. Figures, I should have asked my kid first."

Elsa gingerly took the paper and unfolded it, squinting down at the neat scrawl.

_Joan Bergman_

_Storybrooke Elementary_

_Kindergarten_

"What is this?" She asked Emma, who gave her a small smile.

"I think that's your sister," she explained, causing Elsa's eyes to widen. "Pretty redhead with blue eyes. About the age your sister would have been at the time the curse hit. Lives on the rural side of town in a little cottage. Henry had her as a teacher when he was in kindergarten. Says she's funny and a little bit clumsy."

"That does sound like Anna," Elsa said thoughtfully, hearing her pulse beat in her ears. "Anything else?"

Emma shook her head. "I was just on my way over there to check it out. Thought you might like to come." Hazel eyes drifted past her to the sleeping form on the bed. "But if you're busy, I can come back—"

"No!" She interrupted. "Just…give me a minute to change. I don't really think it wise to tromp around the forest in your flannel pajamas and this…" She peered down at the shirt she was wearing. _Storybrooke Mirror. _"Well, this," she finished lamely, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment as she met Emma's smiling eyes again. "You won't say anything?"

"I would never," Emma assured her with a grin, raising her right hand. "Savior's honor." She retreated into the hall, giving Elsa a moment of privacy as she approached the bed and warred with herself for a moment before poking Hans' shoulder. He made a sound of protest, but did not wake up.

"Oh for Heaven's sake," Elsa huffed, grabbing his shoulder and giving him a forceful shake. "Wake up!"

Green eyes flew open and his hand grabbed her wrist almost instinctively, as if he were ready to fight her off. Shock turned to confusion and his brow furrowed. "Elsa?"

"I have to go," she told him. "Emma has a lead on Anna." His face paled at the mention of her sister, but he nodded. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude—"

"Elsa, _go," _he told her gesturing toward the door.

"About last night," she began hesitantly, but he shook his head.

"Later. Over several ounces…or gallons…of booze," he told her. She gave a curt nod and began to move away, but he stopped her, pulling her back down and surprising her by kissing her on the lips. "But this isn't over."

"I know," she told him quietly, letting go and leaving the room, closing the door behind her. Emma gave her a pointed look. "Don't," she warned sharply.

"Not saying a word!" Emma snickered.

Elsa was always slightly reluctant to get into the yellow deathtrap that Emma referred to as her "Bug". She supposed it was better than walking or riding one of those hideous motorized bicycles. Glancing down at her own attire, a pair of black leggings with brown boots, an oversized sweater and a white knitted hat, she realized how much she'd changed in the short time she'd been in Storybrooke. She certainly missed Arendelle, that much was true, but this place was growing on her. It was small and quiet, there was no worry about wars and trade; most of all though, she had _friends _here. Granted, she'd always had Anna and then Kristoff, but Anna was her sister and Kristoff had been Anna's fiancé…Emma was different; a friend she could talk to about things that she couldn't tell her sister. Emma had always been an outsider too. She had magic. As much as Elsa adored Anna (and frankly, she would die for Anna), the reality was that there were some things Anna could never relate to while Emma could. It was a relief, because it meant she wouldn't always have to burden her sister with her own insecurities.

"Here it is," Emma told her, bringing the car to a halt. "Storybrooke Elementary."

"Do you think she's in there?" Elsa asked softly.

Emma met her eyes. "One way to find out." They got out of the car and started toward the building. The sound of a bell made Elsa flinch. It reminded her of an alarm. "School's out," Emma told her, noticing her clenched fists. Children poured out of the building, filtering around them as they stepped through the doors. As they moved toward the classroom at the end of the hall, Elsa's eyes fell on a little girl, no older than four years old, with two small red pigtails, practically bouncing on her feet near the open doors leading out into the playground. She turned to glance around for any sign of parents, but when she looked back, the girl was gone.

They rounded the corner into the classroom, which was decorated with pastel colors and flowers that the children had clearly colored themselves. The chalkboard at the front of the room read "_Mrs. Bergman's Class". _

"Excuse me," Emma was saying to the young woman, whose back was turned to them as she hunched over a stack of papers. "Are you Joan?"

A chuckle left the woman as she turned to face them. "Sometimes," she laughed, and Elsa's eyes widened at the sight of her sister. Anna looked different with her red hair hanging loose past her shoulders, part of it pulled up into a silver barrette. She dropped the paper she'd been hold, letting it flutter silently to the floor as her face went white. "Elsa!"

Forgetting her hesitation, Elsa rushed forward and threw her arms around Anna, pulling her into a tight embrace and burying her face in Anna's shoulder. Her sister relaxed slightly after a moment of shock and returned the hug. "I knew I'd find you!" She told Anna tearfully, pulling back to look down into her younger sister's pale, teary face. Anna managed a wobbly smile.

"I thought you were dead," she confessed. "Everyone told me you were dead, but I never wanted to believe that."

"I wasn't dead," Elsa told her with a sigh. "Hans…I…" She glanced at Emma, who gave her a sympathetic look. "It's a long story."

"That's okay," Anna assured her, squeezing her hand and wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "We have time to catch up. A lot's happened since you've been gone…"

"Yes, I'm sure it has, I—" Elsa cut off when she stepped away from her sister, taking her in. She gasped in astonishment. "You're pregnant!"

Anna laughed. "Just a little," she agreed, patting her belly. "But that's not the only thing—"

"Mommy!" A voice squealed from the doorway followed by small footsteps. Elsa turned to see the same little girl she'd seen near the doors flying toward them. Anna grinned, bending slightly to pick up the little girl.

"Penny! I want you to meet someone very special!"

Another voice drew Elsa's eyes back to the door and she nearly sagged in relief at the sight of Kristoff in the doorway. "Hey, we were waiting outside, but I figured we'd better come check on you…" He stopped at the sight of her. "Elsa."

"You're here too!" She exclaimed, feeling another onslaught of tears. He crossed the room and surprised her by pulling Elsa into a tight bear hug. "Easy, mountain man," she laughed wheezily. "Ribs are being crushed."

"I thought you were dead. Because of me," he told her raggedly, "when they took you—"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "I was trapped for some time somewhere, but I escaped. Emma," she indicated to the Sheriff, "saved me."

"I caught up with Anna shortly after we were separated," Kristoff explained. "When all of the trouble with the Evil Queen was going on, the ships were stalled and we couldn't get back to Arendelle. Then the curse hit when Anna was pregnant the first time and we woke up Joan and Christopher Bergman."

"Which was _how _long after I was trapped…?" Elsa asked wryly, eyeing her brother-in-law, whose ears turned bright red.

"It wasn't like _that," _Anna giggled. "I mean, we didn't just go at it the second he found me. There were people around. We waited until the sun went down!"

"_Anna!" _Elsa winced, trying to suppress a laugh.

"I'm _joking, _Elsa. Though we did get married right away in case we got separated again and didn't get the chance."

"Well," Elsa leveled a look at her sister, "if _somebody _hadn't taken off the day before her wedding…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…," Anna laughed. "Well, I'm just glad that when we were cursed, we were still together." Her eyes fell on Emma. "Some of us weren't so lucky." Emma nodded with a tight expression on her face. "Elsa, there's something you should know," Anna said, taking her hands. "Hans is here too. He works for the newspaper—"

"I know," Elsa admitted. "We've…run into each other." Emma cleared her throat sharply, earning another glower from her. Anna glanced between them in confusion, while Kristoff stooped to lift the little girl off of the ground, balancing her on his hip. She noticed him giving her a strange look of suspicion. Deciding it best to change the subject, she smiled at the little girl. "So this is my niece?"

"Yep," Anna moved closer to Kristoff, pulling his free arm around her shoulders. "This is Penny. She's almost four. Penny," she reached up to brush a stray lock of red hair out of the child's eyes, "this is your Aunt Elsa. Mommy's sister. Remember?" The girl nodded, glancing shyly at Elsa before burying her face in the fleece collar of Kristoff's flannel coat. Anna gave Elsa an apologetic look. "She's still shy around people she doesn't know."

Elsa nodded, managing a smile despite feeling slightly discouraged. "Of course."

"She's actually a lot like you were, Elsa," Anna mused, causing Elsa to tense with speculation. Seeing the fear in her eyes, Anna squeezed her hand. "I just mean the way she is. She's quiet and extremely well behaved. Whereas this one," she rubbed her middle, "is already a little hellion and I haven't slept in, what?" She smirked at Kristoff. "Almost nine months or so?"

He quirked a brow at her. "Takes after you." He flashed a wicked grin at her. "Feisty." She playfully smacked his chest. "Well," Kristoff said, turning to look down into his daughter's face, "I think right now would be a perfect time to go get some food." He met Anna's eyes. "How about Granny's for dinner?"

"That sounds great. I'm _starving," _Anna agreed. "I could go for a chocolate shake and some fries…"

"What…?" Elsa asked, making a face.

Anna nodded eagerly. "No, it's really good! You dip the fries in the chocolate and it's sweet and salty and—"

"It's disgusting," Kristoff inserted dryly, though he winked at his wife, who presently stuck her tongue out at him.

"It's your fault," Anna insisted, giving him a look of mock innocence. "You did this to me!"

Penny giggled, seeing Anna's glee. "Yeah Daddy, it's _your _fault! Mommy said so! You did this!"

Kristoff's eyes widened in amusement. "And with _that…_we're shipping _you _off to the convent until you're eighteen!"

"No, _you!" _Penny laughed, taking his face in her hands.

"You're _silly_,"He returned, chuckling.

"_You _are!" The child cried, descending into giggles making Elsa smile as the tension left her body. For the first time in forever, Elsa felt like everything might just work out…provided she could explain the whole…_other_…situation to Anna. But that was another story.

"I'm gonna go," Emma spoke up from her position near the door, giving Elsa a knowing look. "I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "And Emma?" The Sheriff paused, giving her an expectant look. "Thank you."

Emma nodded, meeting her eyes sincerely. "Anytime."


End file.
